First Published December 15th 2017
Once friday nights used to be a trip down the pub and a few pints.
Now it usually involves me and my brother going out to try some photography techniques. Sometimes they work perfectly, sometimes not, but it makes for a good evening.
Starting with the annual gifting of christmas presents, as this will probably the last time i see him till the event itself, we prepare to go out across fields, through tunnels, past gas works, and onto golf courses?!
First stop was a public path down to the fields behind the railway lines. Graffiti, check!, Old Bridge with cool metal parts, check! Wire wool, check!
First shot off the bat. EXIF f71, 18 Seconds, ISO160. Nikon D750 with the Samyang 14mm.
My opinion only, but most wire wool photography you should use a wide lens, get the spin, and the whole scene in the shot.
Another one from almost the same angle. My brother spinning. EXIF: F9, 25 Seconds, iso160.
Extending the exposure time out a bit, brought more of the graffiti out. No lightpainting, so the bridge is pretty dark on the outside walls. I do like the fram it creates using the inside walls.
Remember, Wire wool spinning is dangerous. Only do it if your are confident enough to do so, and have all the right safety gear.
Changed up the exposure time a bit here. EXIF: f9, 56 Seconds, iso160. Spun the wool and then lightpainted the walls outside with a small torch. Edited for a different feel.
Last one of the wire wool spinning Changed the angle and spot to shoot from.
EXIF: f8, 56 Seconds, iso160. Lightpainted again and the spinning was done down the length of the tunnel gives it a different look.
I do love doing this and will be sorting out some different locations as soon as possible.
After packing up we went for a walk around the field on the public footpath around the gas works. Decided to grab a couple of cool industrial type shots here, and also a bit of lightpainting with some tools i bought with me.
These tools are homemade, and bought items for a few pounds. The more i do this, the more i may invest in these items.
First off though, industrial coolness and stars.
Cool Gasworks. Looks a bit like a military installation. EXIF:f2.8, 12 Seconds, ISO3200. A little lightpainting.
Hints of the milkyway at the top right. EXIF: f2.8, 30 Seconds, ISO800. May be a good spot for a star trail at some point.
A cheap and cheerful lightpainting stick with multiple colour LED’s that can be cycled through. EXIF: f2.8, 30 Seconds, ISO800. Just getting used to the speed required to create different effects.
My attempt at a christmas tree. EXIF: f2.8, 30 Seconds, ISO800. Something to improve on i think!.
Walking back up to the street after this to get back to the car and next location, i shot a few bits on the way.
Leading lines of the path and pylon wires. EXIF: f2.8, 30 Seconds, ISO500. These pylons will get shot again for some really interesting trails through them.
My Brother directed me towards a small copse of trees, and this rope swing. Probably not that creepy in the day, but at around midnight with it swinging away, it really was. EXIF: f2.8, 30 Seconds, ISO400. lit with a small torch.
Out towards the road, and we thought a few car trails would be interesting.
The good old A46 winding it’s way through Leicestershire. Orion rising in the sky. EXIF:f2.8, 12 Seconds, IS160
Thought i’d get a different aspect of the roads. Different Directions add a lot of interest. EXIF:f2.8, 15 Seconds, ISO200
Quickly popped in the house to warm up a little. Hot Mince Pies and Tea really do help at this sort of time.
The fields were pockmarked with small landmines of icy puddles. Not the best conditions for walking, but perfect for astro and stars.
After parking up at the second spot we walked across a field with a huge hedge sort of dumped in the middle. Some fantastic trees on this stretch, so decided to put a pin in that for the way back.
We also went through a tunnel. I’ll call it that. All of 6ft tall and 4ft wide, and about 100ft long. Now, i’m not known for my love of tiny spaces, but we spent a good amount of time here as well, trying some different painting techniques.
Lightpainting the outside of the tunnel as well as the inside to create the silhouette. Love the vibe of this photo. It feels uneasy, like an explorer travelling through to another dimension.
EXIF: F2.8, 30 Seconds, ISO800
Again a little lightpainting outside and in to create a cool effect. Checking the route ahead before venturing into the unknown!! EXIF:f2.8, 15 Seconds, ISO500
Inside the tunnel has a lot of different things that could be done here. EXIF:f2.8, 15 Seconds, ISO500
Painting with a torch across about quarter of the length of this tunnel. Something different. Maybe something needs changing at the end, to get a crisper outline and more clarity in the body and face. Already know what it is, but didn’t have the kit with me at the time. Work with what you have. EXIF:f2.8, 25 Seconds, ISO400
Enough in the tunnel. It was starting to feel like we shouldn’t really be there……
Next stop the very open and windy golf course. There is a public path going right through the middle of it. I expect they don’t thin people will be using it at 1am, but it was an interesting stop.
Just needed a little time to relax a little so setup a small star trail shot.
Just a small one, around 30 shots. Couldn’t find any flags on the greens, so stuck with a bunker.
EXIF: f2.8, 20 Seconds, ISO800 for each of the shots.
When these are running on the internal intervelometer, it is a good time to check your emails and facebook/instagram etc….
A moonrise shot. Just loved the patterns being created by the trees and moonlight splashing over the fairway. EXIF: f2.8, 25 Seconds, ISO1250
We also tried a few more bits with the lights. I think after this some needed repair, but i brought enough to keep going.
Creating shapes is more difficult than it looks. Just getting used to a few bits of kit here.
EXIF: f2.8, 30 Seconds, ISO1000
And this is where the damage happened…..
Heavy landing after throwing it through the branches. Such cool shapes, but needs some refining.
EXIF:f2.8, 41 seconds, ISO320
That’s enough there, as it was getting a bit nippy at this point.
On the way back we decided to stop at the trees again. I WILL be going back here to do some huge trails over these trees.
Just an epic tree. So stoic and overbearing looking. Tried a few different shots of this tree. EXIF:f2.8, 25 Seconds, ISO1000.
The foreground was starting to be flooded with light from the moon. A fantastic silhouette.
EXIF: f2.8, 30 Seconds, ISO2000 Hints of the milkyway showing.
Took a walk down to the next tree just to get a small trail. About 40 shots altogether. Might try some different angles at some point. EXIF:f2.8, 20 Seconds, ISO1000
The best way to get through a night like this, is to have a plan of locations, and a plan of what you would like to do. Some things don’t pan out, but if you have a plan you can get the shots you want, and some fun ones on top.
Even if you veer off the plan a bit, you have a good idea of timescales and what you can do in them.
I now have a store for Prints and anything else. Look at the top of the page and click on Shop. If you want to email me for a custom order, or something not in the shop drop me an email.
Finally, have fun, stay safe, and enjoy shooting.
Any suggestions for future blog posts, drop me an email. I will at some point be going into more detail on future posts.
you can see more of my work at
https://www.instagram.com/garethnormanlandscapes/
https://www.instagram.com/garethnormanportraits/
https://www.facebook.com/garethnormanlandscapes/
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